hi Ray, i remember dad had one we used to listen to back in the 60's...it had a speaker grid on the front, it also had a separate power supply with the big connector leads, i got a big wallop from the lead when i was about 10, cant remember why i stuck my fingure in the socket..lol..but thats why i remember this radio after about 47 years, it was also black, i remember using headphones, those old aircraft type phones
My dad was in Signals Corps of the erstwhile British Indian Army and brought home a surplus PCR3 set with a round speaker box.I loved the look of it . I believe it was a AC/DC set. I surf the net to see the pictures of these radios and I see some are restored in UK.
Sadly I never did, but ended up with other radios including a 19 set I completely modified as a receiver only. Used that with a KW / Geleso front end and the 19set as a fixed IF for it.However I always looked at the PCR radios and thought they would make a good set. Now, of course they are quite sought after. Thanks for all your videos.
Very nice, simple receiver. We had an old radio, wooden cabinet, big old beast and used to listen to everything on it, though it was never sold as a communications receiver, it was far to nice with all the wood, its speaker was outside the radio on I think just about enough wire to put it on top or by the side of the radio. So maybe another mystery solved? I could never understand why the speaker was not built into the radio until now. Thanks for that bit of info, I had never heard of the tax before. It was a lovely old radio, I think it used to have a battery that had to be charged up, or maybe that was another radio. Anyway, I am waffling on a bit now. Thanks for showing us that.
Ray, I think I've watched that TV program you refer to very recently here on You Tube. I believe it was titled something like "The Battle Of Britain". I'll try to find it, and pass it on. A very nice and historical radio. Dick
Hi Ray: Another interesting video of a good general coverage receiver. It looks on par with my Hallicrafters S-40A except a lot more rugged. I noticed all the valves were held down with restraints except for the rectifier. And the base for it looks modern. The lock for the tuning, locks the dial in the opposite direction to the arrow. Strange. It is in terrific shape. Also one last thing. That story of the use of receiving messages all in a clandestine manner was fascinating! Take care, Tom
I had a phillips pcr2 in the 60s and 70s, it had a seperate mains ps connected by a lead and a b8 octal plug, Im not absolutely sure, but I think the PS had a speaker as well
Ray: I would assume that radio was made for the SWL (Short Wave Listener) who wasn't actually into radio that deeply. Over here after the war we had the Hallicrafters S-38 series. These receivers were built to a price point rather then accuracy point. Brendan
Hi Dick, that was the one... The Battle of Britain. Thanks for that. It was a great program so I'd appreciate the link if you can find it. Cheers, Ray.
Ray, there is another UA-cam video up, of one of these sets with speaker. The description is actually more interesting than the video, if the history described is accurate. It follows very closely to your story. I'm sure a search for PCR set will turn up the video, I'll also PM the link to you. Fascinating stuff, as you said, thank you very much.
beautifull English set ray. I love the stories about the ww2 sets. amazing that have survived all these years!! I have learned a lot from you today!! plus I recommend anybody to learn or refresh [like me] to check out joining your teachings as I did. hope to have a vid. soon working on getting a camera. I do have some ww2 sets from the states. the hallicrafter re-1 portable, and a s-22r marine radio. your dear friend in ohio, ed
Wow... I was waiting until the end to tell you about the TV programme and the farm etc. but aw shucks, you already knew. It may have been something to do with the Local Defence Volunteers and what ever they were up to. I had a black PCR3.. can't remember what it had over the PCR 2. Maybe it was a range between 3 & 6 Mc/s. We hadn't started saying Megahertz then. Now here's a nice bit...I wasn't yet G3NBY when Ivan Skavinski Skavar chucked up his beeping Schputnik. and it was bleeping very close to 21.000 Mc/s No way that the PCR 3 could read out 21.001 or what ever but I was sure it would hear it anyway BUT as your honourable host said "There is no BFO" and this beep (newspapers had not started saying bLeep yet!) was a series of CW (morse) dots and would not be heard without a BFO. (Today, like Ray, I'd build one in and a double bed in the vast space available) so I wasn't going to hear it properly. I DID have an R1155 which does have a BFO but it didn't go beyond about 18.5 Mc/s. Then it struck me that a harmonic or sproggie from the 1155 vfo might just land on 21.000 and a bit Mc/s. I swished it about & IT DID so I was able to hear the Russian huggy bear with front end BFO injection. I recorded it on reel to reel and in the years since, what did I do?? I LOST THE TAPE! Now ain't that just clever!! Thanks Ray. Very entertaining as always.
I had exactly the same receiver myself back in the late sixties. Mine also had a built-in power supply and an internal mounted loudspeaker, but these were both modifications carried out by previous owners before me. Practical Wireless published an article on modifying the PCR2 in the mid-sixties. There were simple modifications like installing a speaker, fitting a loudspeaker and changing the first valve with a more modern B9G version. But there were also much more complicated mods like changing all the valves for B9G types. I never got around to doing anything very much with mine.
hi Ray, i remember dad had one we used to listen to back in the 60's...it had a speaker grid on the front, it also had a separate power supply with the big connector leads, i got a big wallop from the lead when i was about 10, cant remember why i stuck my fingure in the socket..lol..but thats why i remember this radio after about 47 years, it was also black, i remember using headphones, those old aircraft type phones
Happy days! I remember the one with the built in speaker. They were lovely radios. Cheers, Ray.
My dad was in Signals Corps of the erstwhile British Indian Army and brought home a surplus PCR3 set with a round speaker box.I loved the look of it . I believe it was a AC/DC set. I surf the net to see the pictures of these radios and I see some are restored in UK.
I can remember looking at one of these and hoping I could buy one back in the 1960s. Brings back some memories. Thanks.
They are lovely radios. Hope you finally got hold of one. Cheers, Ray.
Sadly I never did, but ended up with other radios including a 19 set I completely modified as a receiver only. Used that with a KW / Geleso front end and the 19set as a fixed IF for it.However I always looked at the PCR radios and thought they would make a good set. Now, of course they are quite sought after. Thanks for all your videos.
Thanks Ray. Loved the war story at the end.
Hi Al, thanks for that. It's interesting to collate all the info and see what emerges. All the best,
Ray.
Hi Brendan, you might well be right. Thanks for commenting. Cheers, Ray.
I now understand why some of these radios had no speakers. Thanks for sharing.
Tom
Hi Phil, things grew progressively worse after the excellent radios built in the 1940s. From the 60s onward, it was downhill all the way.
Very nice, simple receiver. We had an old radio, wooden cabinet, big old beast and used to listen to everything on it, though it was never sold as a communications receiver, it was far to nice with all the wood, its speaker was outside the radio on I think just about enough wire to put it on top or by the side of the radio. So maybe another mystery solved? I could never understand why the speaker was not built into the radio until now. Thanks for that bit of info, I had never heard of the tax before. It was a lovely old radio, I think it used to have a battery that had to be charged up, or maybe that was another radio. Anyway, I am waffling on a bit now. Thanks for showing us that.
Thanks! Cheers, Ray.
Ray, I think I've watched that TV program you refer to very recently here on You Tube. I believe it was titled something like "The Battle Of Britain". I'll try to find it, and pass it on. A very nice and historical radio.
Dick
Hi Ray:
Another interesting video of a good general coverage receiver. It looks on par with my Hallicrafters S-40A except a lot more rugged.
I noticed all the valves were held down with restraints except for the rectifier. And the base for it looks modern.
The lock for the tuning, locks the dial in the opposite direction to the arrow. Strange.
It is in terrific shape.
Also one last thing. That story of the use of receiving messages all in a clandestine manner was fascinating!
Take care,
Tom
I had a phillips pcr2 in the 60s and 70s, it had a seperate mains ps connected by a lead and a b8 octal plug, Im not absolutely sure, but I think the PS had a speaker as well
That's right, some had built-in speakers.
Ray: I would assume that radio was made for the SWL (Short Wave Listener) who wasn't actually into radio that deeply. Over here after the war we had the Hallicrafters S-38 series. These receivers were built to a price point rather then accuracy point. Brendan
Thanks for sharing, Ray. I sure learned something new today! Dylan
Hi Dick, that was the one... The Battle of Britain. Thanks for that. It was a great program so I'd appreciate the link if you can find it. Cheers, Ray.
Ray, there is another UA-cam video up, of one of these sets with speaker. The description is actually more interesting than the video, if the history described is accurate. It follows very closely to your story. I'm sure a search for PCR set will turn up the video, I'll also PM the link to you. Fascinating stuff, as you said, thank you very much.
beautifull English set ray. I love the stories about the ww2 sets. amazing that have survived all these years!! I have learned a lot from you today!! plus I recommend anybody to learn or refresh [like me] to check out joining your teachings as I did. hope to have a vid. soon working on getting a camera. I do have some ww2 sets from the states. the hallicrafter re-1 portable, and a s-22r marine radio. your dear friend in ohio, ed
Any idea what a working one would cost ?
Blimey, I'm afraid I'm out of touch with prices. Sorry. Cheers, Ray.
Wow... I was waiting until the end to tell you about the TV programme and the farm etc.
but aw shucks, you already knew. It may have been something to do with the Local Defence Volunteers and what ever they were up to.
I had a black PCR3.. can't remember what it had over the PCR 2. Maybe it was a range between 3 & 6 Mc/s. We hadn't started saying Megahertz then.
Now here's a nice bit...I wasn't yet G3NBY when Ivan Skavinski Skavar
chucked up his beeping Schputnik. and it was bleeping very close to 21.000 Mc/s
No way that the PCR 3 could read out 21.001 or what ever but I was sure it would hear it anyway BUT as your honourable host said "There is no BFO" and this beep (newspapers had not started saying bLeep yet!) was a series of CW (morse) dots and would not be heard without a BFO. (Today, like Ray, I'd build one in and a double bed in the vast space available) so I wasn't going to hear it properly.
I DID have an R1155 which does have a BFO but it didn't go beyond about 18.5 Mc/s.
Then it struck me that a harmonic or sproggie from the 1155 vfo might just land on 21.000 and a bit Mc/s. I swished it about & IT DID so I was able to hear the Russian huggy bear with front end BFO injection.
I recorded it on reel to reel and in the years since, what did I do??
I LOST THE TAPE! Now ain't that just clever!!
Thanks Ray. Very entertaining as always.
They are lovely old receivers, happy days!
Many old domestic receivers had more coverage than these.
Yes, that’s right.
I had exactly the same receiver myself back in the late sixties. Mine also had a built-in power supply and an internal mounted loudspeaker, but these were both modifications carried out by previous owners before me.
Practical Wireless published an article on modifying the PCR2 in the mid-sixties. There were simple modifications like installing a speaker, fitting a loudspeaker and changing the first valve with a more modern B9G version. But there were also much more complicated mods like changing all the valves for B9G types. I never got around to doing anything very much with mine.
+John Galaxy I remember the Practical Wireless mods. They were nice receivers. Thanks for commenting, John. Cheers, Ray.